Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I HAVE DONE BAD THINGS.I CAN'T TAKE THEM BACK, AND THEY ARE PART OF WHO I AM.

Tris
has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has
paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever
more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if
Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger
than ever... because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.(summary from Goodreads)To start with, I have to say - I'm really not a fan of the Divergent series. It took me ages to get through Divergent. I just couldn't get into it. I liked the idea behind the story, I think Roth knew how to incite tension through action, and I enjoyed the relationship between Tris and Four. But I never wanted to read more. I've only now made myself read Insurgent because the movie is about to be released. And I really do mean "made myself" because I had to force myself to not give up on this book. I felt nothing for the characters. So many that I liked from Divergent were barely in Insurgent; Tris and Four were whiny and frustrating; I hated Caleb; and I felt like all the people in this world were pathetic and boring. Despite Insurgent being set directly after Divergent, it was like there were no repercussions. The actions of the Erudite and Dauntless factions seemed to have no lasting impact simply because the other factions decided to let it go. Even the Abnegation that weren't slaughtered seemed happy to accept and move on. Really? Surely there's only so far you can take the one personality trait thing? I've never been less invested. I give props to Roth for some more kick ass action. She certainly has skill in writing the fighting and the 'shoot 'em up, bang bang'. At least that keeps the imagination soaring. But even that was less than it was in Divergent, so in the end Insurgent is just one big mass of "nope, nope, nope" for me. The storyline and world building felt messy and forced, and that 'twist' ending was predictable since Divergent. So I don't think I'll be forcing myself to read Allegiant. I was aware that there was a huge twist in the final book, and after reading Insurgent I had an idea where Roth might have chosen to go. Unfortunately I then accidentally spoiled myself recently (one day I'll learn to be more careful!) and so now I'm even LESS inclined to finish this series.

I'm sorry, Divergent series, but this is a book break up. You're just not the one for me.